Our Black in Tech series features the career path & advice from Black professionals in the tech industry. In this Q&A, Kimberly Gordon-Brown, Associate General Counsel at Acquia shares her story.
Where did you grow up and what were you like as a child? What did your parents do for work?
I was raised in Boston and I am the child of two immigrant parents. Both of my parents moved to the US from Jamaica when they were in their twenties. My father was a computer engineer and my mother was a high-level medical records manager at a major Boston hospital.
As a kid I spent all my time dancing. I love(d) every type of dance, but I was most in love with ballet, so I was always on a stage or traveling for competitions.
Where did you go to college? What did you study and what did you do after graduating?
I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Business from Simmons University in Boston. I then got my MBA from Suffolk University before receiving my JD from Mitchell Hamline School of Law. After graduating law school and passing the Bar Exam, I moved back to Boston and began working as an associate attorney, then moved to the US Attorney’s Office in Boston.
What inspired you to get into the tech industry?
I stumbled my way into the tech industry. My interest in tech began while I was working at the US Attorney’s Office, but I didn’t work directly in tech until I worked at a major bank. I was pulled into the legal tech department, working with all of the bank’s tech vendors, and realized that I really enjoyed the niche.
What has your career path looked like in tech and the various positions you’ve held before joining Acquia?
I have worked at a large, federally regulated bank and at a midsized tech company. In both roles, I worked as an attorney handling tech agreements for my business counterparts. In my current role at Acquia, my responsibilities cover a much larger breadth of the legal side of a tech company, including commercial, privacy, governance, IP and much more.
Can you share the high-level responsibilities of your current position at Acquia?
As Associate General Counsel at Acquia, I administer the legal affairs of the company by providing legal advice and balanced business solutions that minimize liability exposure, implement appropriate policies, practices, and procedures, and establish trusted partnerships with business counterparts in furtherance of the company’s vital few objectives.
What has attributed to your success thus far and what types of obstacles have you had to overcome along the way as a Black professional?
A driving force in my success has been that I decided very early on that giving up on goals that I set for myself was not an option, as well as being diligent in creating and growing relationships along the way. An obstacle, or at least a blatant perceived obstacle, is that more often than not I am the only Black female in a role or company. As a Black woman, it is harder to see yourself in a place where there have never been any who look like you, or are seen as the anomaly. On the other side of that, being that anomaly has provided me with the opportunity to stand out, show my worth and value, and show the importance of a voice such as mine.
What types of programs and initiatives does Acquia have that support diversity, equity, and inclusion?
Acquia has programs and plans in place that practice diverse hiring, support STEM education for underrepresented groups, and expand employee education and access to resources. I am the leader of Acquia’s Black Employee Resource Group, AABLE (Acquia Alliance of Black Leaders in Excellence). AABLE is a leading voice within Acquia, partnering with Acquia leadership and other internal groups to support Black employees at all levels, and enabling innovative ideas and opportunities to develop and grow to increase Acquia’s diversity outlook. Acquia is also able to lean on direction from Vista Equity Partners and the robust DEI initiatives provided there.
What advice would you give to other Black professionals who are interested in joining the tech industry?
I would say to learn the nuances and niche knowledge that is necessary within the tech industry, because it gives you a good background before you even begin. It is often a Google search away to find what is required and preferred for roles you are interested in.
While general awareness of the problem of diversity in the tech industry is a step forward, to make a lasting change, real actions need to be taken. Do you have any ideas or suggestions on what companies or employees can do to step up and make a difference?
It is important to make real, tangible, and quantifiable efforts in not only diversity hiring but also diversity talent retainment. It is great when more tech companies implement diversity hiring, but retaining those employees is just as important and usually falls to the wayside, bringing us back to square one. Thus, it is important to have an inclusive culture giving a voice to all employees and provide training and resources where necessary.
